GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Mrs. John Ashley, formerly Sarah MacDonald, wears a fashionable French gown with a short bodice and very high waistline. Her turban-like bonnet, undoubtedly imported from France, was also very stylish. Mrs. Ashley's hair is arranged in a popular style of the time with curls over her forehead and at the side of her face. Gilbert Stuart was known for his ability to record a sitter's personality especially through the eyes. Mrs. Ashley's appearance of relaxed self-assurance, therefore, is probably a true reflection of her nature. In addition, her pose indicates strength of character and class with no sense of awkwardness. As is typical of portraits of men and women designed to be hung as pair, Mr. Ashley appears on the left and Mrs. Ashley on the right.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Text for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits, 1997.
NOTES
c. 1798
Object File reviewed
These portraits of a wealthy merchant and his wife were painted in Philadelphia, where the debt-ridden Gilbert Stuart had relocated from Great Britain to recoup his fortune by painting George Washington's portrait. Their swirling brushwork, broad handling, variety of textures, and, in particular, luscious flesh tones were all trademarks of Stuart's style-and light years ahead of any other American artist at the time.
Philadelphians such as the Ashleys flocked to Stuart, as did sitters during his later stays in the new city of Washington, D.C., and Boston. Unfortunately, Stuart was famously slow to complete his commissions, thus America's most skilled artist remained perpetually broke.
Wiliam Keyse Rudolph
The Pauline Gill Sullivan Associate Curator of American Art
May 2006
Related Object
PROVENANCE INCOMPLETE
"In the absence of any further provenance, one can only assume that this second portrait of John Ashley was painted in the same year as that of his only daughter and her husband (the descendant from whom our pair of portraits came, knowing nothing of the Toledo portrait, gave us 1798 as the year in which Mr. and Mrs. John Ashley were painted, and in 1799 as the year in which their daughter Marianne, and her husband, Simon Walker, were painted); that it seems probably that it left its original owner's possession as a portrait of John Ashley, which surname was transformed into the more important Ashley of the Shaftesbury family. Even in this connection, there is no agreement either in dates, or name, as will be seen from the various quotations given hereafter."
From the Collection of Mrs. Alice Madge, great-granddaughter of the above Mr. and Mrs. John Ashley, and grand-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Walker (Stuart A1939-40). A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walker, and aunt to Mrs. Alice Madge, who returned to England from the U.S.A., brought these four Gilbert Stuarts back with her. (unnamed document in object file)
From 1946: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Munger Fund (Munger Fund Committee--Knoedler, New York, November 1946) [1] [2]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
[2] Works of art purchased by the Mrs. Stephen I. Munger Endowment are placed in the custody of the Dallas Museum of Art for the purpose of exhibition. The title to all works of art purchased by the Munger Fund remains with the Fund.
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Philadelphia (Pennsylvania/United States): TGN: 7014406
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Sarah Ashley nee MacDonald born August 4th, 1759 in London/Married to John Ashley, Feb. 5, 1776/Died in Philadelphia July 12, 1839
John Ashley born September 27, 1754 in London/married to Sarah MacDonald Feb. 5, 1776/Died in Philadelphia Dec. 19, 1831
Subject terms
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC~Learn more about the life and works of Gilbert Stuart.
- Khan Academy~Read about Stuart's Landsdowne Portrait of George Washington.
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
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TEACHING IDEAS
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Apply to objects where number equals 1946.36.M
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General Description
Mrs. John Ashley, formerly Sarah MacDonald, wears a fashionable French gown with a short bodice and very high waistline. Her turban-like bonnet, undoubtedly imported from France, was also very stylish. Mrs. Ashley's hair is arranged in a popular style of the time with curls over her forehead and at the side of her face. Gilbert Stuart was known for his ability to record a sitter's personality especially through the eyes. Mrs. Ashley's appearance of relaxed self-assurance, therefore, is probably a true reflection of her nature. In addition, her pose indicates strength of character and class with no sense of awkwardness. As is typical of portraits of men and women designed to be hung as pair, Mr. Ashley appears on the left and Mrs. Ashley on the right.
Excerpt from
Gail Davitt, DMA Exhibition Label Text for Faces of a New Nation: Colonial American Portraits, 1997.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC~Learn more about the life and works of Gilbert Stuart.
- Khan Academy~Read about Stuart's Landsdowne Portrait of George Washington.
Notes
c. 1798
Object File reviewed
These portraits of a wealthy merchant and his wife were painted in Philadelphia, where the debt-ridden Gilbert Stuart had relocated from Great Britain to recoup his fortune by painting George Washington's portrait. Their swirling brushwork, broad handling, variety of textures, and, in particular, luscious flesh tones were all trademarks of Stuart's style-and light years ahead of any other American artist at the time.
Philadelphians such as the Ashleys flocked to Stuart, as did sitters during his later stays in the new city of Washington, D.C., and Boston. Unfortunately, Stuart was famously slow to complete his commissions, thus America's most skilled artist remained perpetually broke.
Wiliam Keyse Rudolph
The Pauline Gill Sullivan Associate Curator of American Art
May 2006
Related Object
PROVENANCE INCOMPLETE
"In the absence of any further provenance, one can only assume that this second portrait of John Ashley was painted in the same year as that of his only daughter and her husband (the descendant from whom our pair of portraits came, knowing nothing of the Toledo portrait, gave us 1798 as the year in which Mr. and Mrs. John Ashley were painted, and in 1799 as the year in which their daughter Marianne, and her husband, Simon Walker, were painted); that it seems probably that it left its original owner's possession as a portrait of John Ashley, which surname was transformed into the more important Ashley of the Shaftesbury family. Even in this connection, there is no agreement either in dates, or name, as will be seen from the various quotations given hereafter."
From the Collection of Mrs. Alice Madge, great-granddaughter of the above Mr. and Mrs. John Ashley, and grand-daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Simon Walker (Stuart A1939-40). A daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Walker, and aunt to Mrs. Alice Madge, who returned to England from the U.S.A., brought these four Gilbert Stuarts back with her. (unnamed document in object file)
From 1946: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Munger Fund (Munger Fund Committee--Knoedler, New York, November 1946) [1] [2]
[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.
[2] Works of art purchased by the Mrs. Stephen I. Munger Endowment are placed in the custody of the Dallas Museum of Art for the purpose of exhibition. The title to all works of art purchased by the Munger Fund remains with the Fund.
Cultures
Geography
Place of origin: Philadelphia (Pennsylvania/United States): TGN: 7014406
Process/materials
Historical periods
Individuals
Sarah Ashley nee MacDonald born August 4th, 1759 in London/Married to John Ashley, Feb. 5, 1776/Died in Philadelphia July 12, 1839
John Ashley born September 27, 1754 in London/married to Sarah MacDonald Feb. 5, 1776/Died in Philadelphia Dec. 19, 1831
Subject terms
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PROVENANCE
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
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1946.36.M
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object_notes_1_b-0046.xml.nores